A Groundbreaking Event at Southern Nazarene University

A Groundbreaking Event at Southern Nazarene University

BETHANY, OK (February 13, 2012) – As part of the multi-year, multi-phase Campaign for the Sciences at Southern Nazarene University, plans are set for the Friday, March 1, 2013 groundbreaking ceremony that will launch construction of the J.D. and Mary West Science Laboratory on the main campus of SNU in Bethany, OK.

The state-of-the-art facility will be located adjacent to the existing W. Don Beaver Science Hall. Comprising nearly 26,000 sq. ft., this historic building will house five biology laboratories (including a cadaver lab), three chemistry laboratories, two research laboratories, office spaces, student gathering areas and a greenhouse.

Location of the 2:00 p.m. Groundbreaking will be on the south side of the Beaver Science Hall on Peniel Avenue in Bethany, and is open to the public.

"It's exciting to be breaking ground for the most significant expansion of academic space in some years at SNU. We are so grateful to the alumni and friends of the university who have seen the value in this project and have donated resources to make this day possible. With this facility addition, our science tradition will continue and become even stronger," stated Dr. Loren Gresham, President of Southern Nazarene University.

Excellence in Science is a hallmark of Southern Nazarene University. Across the years thousands of teachers, medical doctors, dentists, researchers, nurses and professors have graduated from SNU’s science programs. The quality of her graduates has generated strong support from a broad range of constituents, including alumni, friends, corporations and foundations, such as the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation, who issued an $800,000 Challenge Grant in 2011 that was met by the university in October of 2012 and has been instrumental in making the commencement of construction possible.

Construction on Phase I is estimated to take up to eighteen months, with a projected opening in the Fall of 2014.

For more information about Southern Nazarene University and the Campaign for the Sciences, visitwww.snu.edu.

Founded in 1899, Southern Nazarene University is a private, Christian, liberal arts university - a service of the Church of the Nazarene. Located on a 40-acre campus just west of Oklahoma City, SNU grew out of several small colleges committed to training people for service to God and their fellow man. More than 32,000 alumni work and serve throughout the United States and the world. Read More